Martha Surprises Kate
by wendykw
Summary: Martha and Kate have an impromptu dinner while Rick is on a book tour. Martha's answer to Kate's question is a surprise for Kate.


Kate slid deeper into the sofa, her open book resting on her chest. She closed her eyes and conjured an image of Rick's smiling face. She missed him. Two more days before she could see those cobalt eyes crinkle with his smile. Kate brightened at the thought. She picked up her bookmark from the sofa table and slid it into her book. She extricated herself from the sofa and walked toward the kitchen. She needed to eat, and a glass of wine could keep her company while she waited for Rick's nightly phone call. She heard the jingle of keys outside the door and turned her steps towards it. Before she could reach it, Martha made her usual exuberant entrance.

"Katherine, dear, I hoped you would be home. With Richard away, I thought we could share a meal. I should have called, but I forgot to charge my phone, again," Martha punctuated her words with a laugh.

"I was just about to pour myself a glass of wine and search the fridge for leftovers. I'd love to pour you a glass as well. We could order in from Sal's. Some Italian with our wine would be perfect, I think," Kate responded to her Mother-in-law with a wide smile.

"That would be lovely. Some of Sal's asparagus ravioli and a salad are always divine."

Kate and Martha sipped their wine as they waited for their food to arrive. "Have you talked to Richard today? I am hoping the weather hasn't caused any problems with his book tour."

"I talked to him this morning. No problems so far. He is supposed to call tonight, after whatever party Gina has him attending. He's in Dallas, and the flooding has been miles from where he is."

"That's good. I wouldn't want his return to be delayed." Martha's response was followed by a knock on the door. "Sal is always on time with the food."

Conversation with their meal had been light and humorous. Martha had used Rick's absence as an opportunity to captivate Kate with tales of Rick's childhood antics. After their laughter died down following a singularly hilarious reminiscence, Kate decided to ask Martha something she had often wondered about.

"I remember Rick talking about getting expelled from schools, and he always mentioned scholarships. What magic trick did you use to get him so many scholarships, when he was getting expelled over and over?"

"Oh, Darling, Richard _was_ the magic." Martha took several sips of her wine. "He was such an adorable little boy with his luxurious mop of hair and those dark blue eyes. I was a struggling actress, clichéd but true. I would take him to the New York Public Library for story time and tell the employees, that I was going to browse books and be back for him after the story. I'd run out to do an errand, and I'd usually be late in returning. He was so cute; he charmed the librarian who told the stories. She would be reading him a book, when I returned. He would be sitting in her lap and following along with the words. He could read by the time he was three." Kate hid her surprise behind her glass.

Martha finished her glass of wine. "I managed to get him into a wonderful preschool with the influence of a producer I had worked with. That was the first scholarship he received. The school was fairly prestigious and a little pretentious. Before they would accept him, there were aptitude and intelligence tests. The headmaster called and asked me to meet with him. He called himself to set up the appointment. As you can imagine, I was flustered by his call, but I used my acting skills to hide that from him. I had to take Richard with me, but he was content to read a book while he waited with the school secretary."

Martha refilled her glass, took a few sips and smiled at Kate. "The Headmaster was tapping the top of a file as I entered the room. After the usual pleasantries, he handed me a piece of paper with graphs and numbers, etc. I had no idea what I was being shown. He beamed at me, Katherine, truly beamed." Martha smiled at the memory. "Richard's IQ is in the genius range. He was four years old and could read at a second grade level. His vocabulary was equivalent to a fifth grader. I knew Richard was smart, but I had no idea he was that advanced. The Headmaster was actually excited about having Richard at his school."

Kate stared at Martha with her wide eyes. Martha continued with her monologue. "Richard jokes about how smart Alexis is. He says he has no idea where she gets it from, but he and I both know exactly from whom she inherited that mind. Haven't you noticed the abundance of facts that Richard can recall in an instant? He has an eidetic memory..."

Kate interrupted Martha, "How did I not realize this? We can be examining evidence or at a crime scene, and Rick will remember some tiny detail I had missed or never even noticed. Sometimes he closes his eyes, as if he is conjuring up an image. And the amount of minutia that man has in his head! I feel like an idiot for not realizing this. Martha, what IQ did four year old Ricky have?"

"I was told the scores of small children are fluid. There are several different testing methods. The Headmaster droned on about the impreciseness of the scores, but he seemed truly impressed. He said Richard scored in the top 1%. With the testing methods in the 1970s, Richard was above 150." Martha smiled broadly at Kate. Kate's face registered her shock. "I would sneak peeks at his paperwork, when we transferred him from school to school. The testing methods changed from school to school, but he consistently scored in the 150's or higher."

"He acts like such a child sometimes. He's always joking around, but he has _the words_. I am constantly surprised at his verbal abilities and his wit. His jokes can be true groaners or brilliant spur of the moment observations," Kate mused out loud.

"Don't berate yourself for not noticing. He has decades of practice at hiding his gifts. You must realize the disadvantages he had as a child. He was illegitimate. He was frequently the new kid at school, and the child of an actress, who often moved from place to place. Sometimes we moved for my work. Sometimes we moved to stay ahead of my creditors." Martha breathed out a small sigh.

"I am sure you did the best you could for him, Martha. He has told me about how special you made Christmases for him." Kate sipped her own wine. "I should have realized his clown persona is a result of being the new kid so often."

"I am certain he would have been the class clown, even if he had gone to the same school his entire life. His father wooed me with that same combination of charm and humor. You've met Richard's father, so you know he also has some very fine physical attributes." Martha chuckled and added, "He was a gorgeous man when I met him."

Kate smiled at Martha, who appeared to be visiting a treasured memory. A few moments later Martha refocused on her daughter-in-law. "When Richard was small, the teachers would excuse his mischievous behavior with comments about his brilliance and boredom. I would have to move him from school to school, because of my career. I was almost always able to get him a scholarship at a different private school based upon Richard's intelligence. His pranks didn't result in expulsion until he reached his teen years. My personal view is that the schools expected him to accomplish great things, and they wanted to be able to claim him as an alumnus." Both women laughed.

"Rick made a similar remark the first year we worked together. It was a case involving a private school. He said the schools he had attended asked him for money, because he had become rich and famous. I feel so stupid for not realizing some of these things before now. I'm not much of a detective, when it comes to my husband."

"I learned over the years, that Richard's mind is constantly processing something. He could be writing a story in his mind, while he was planning a prank to impress his friends. He remembers the names of people he hasn't seen in decades. He knows how to cultivate a friendship with the Mayor or with the man who sells papers on the corner."

Kate interrupted Martha, "He knows the name of every person who works at the 12th. He knows their spouse's name and many times their children's names. He will stop and ask a uniform how their kid's ballgame went, while I can't even remember they have a kid. If I had a dollar for every time he has said, 'I know a guy', I'd be able to pay for your new apartment."

Both ladies snickered at Kate's joke. Martha decided to redirect the conversation. "I know you attended Stanford before your Mother died. That is quite a prestigious school. Therefore, you are quite the brainy person as well. I can't claim to be the main source for Richard's intellectual genes. His father must be very intelligent, to have survived so long in his career."

Kate saw a wistful air descend over Martha. "I'm not sure I could have done what you did, Martha. You raised a wonderful, successful man. _And_ you did it alone."

"I met other single mothers along the way. Viet Nam produced widows with children. The sexual revolution, as it was called, produced other children like Richard. It wasn't as harsh as it was for Hester Prynne," Martha paused and chuckled at her joke. "My family expected me to put him up for adoption. I considered it at first, but then I felt him move inside of me. I fell in love with him, before he was even born. I have never understood Meredith's poor maternal attachment to Alexis. She was ... Never mind, Dear, that is old news. Alexis is one of the joys in my life. Richard may be famous for his books, but he is a better father than any man I have ever known."

"Seeing Rick's love and concern for Alexis, the effort and the importance he placed on making sure she was happy, safe and loved; that is what changed my attitude towards him. I realized there was more to him than the playboy jackass on Page 6."

"I was never as good at parenting as Richard is. He created a template of the perfect father from the books he read. After Alexis was born, she became the focal point of his life. All his decisions were dependent on what was best for Alexis. He wanted her to have a complete family, so he married Gina." Martha's expression demonstrated her disgust with that decision. Kate broke into laughter.

"Do you remember the nurse who broke his girlfriend out of jail?" Kate nodded affirmatively in response to Martha's question. "Richard was back with Gina at that time. The relationship was starting to fray. I asked him if he was willing to break her out of jail, because that was true love. When you had the murder of that magician, he told me he was looking for magic. He didn't have that with Gina. I was delighted when they realized, it wasn't meant to be."

"Rick and Javi were having a conversation about friends and breaking people out of jail. I walked up at the moment that Javi said something about taking care of Numero Uno. Now I understand the expression Castle got on his face, when I told him I'd break him out of jail," Kate told Martha.

"I am sure you would do a fine job of breaking him out, but I trust that you are doing a better job of keeping him out of jail. There haven't been any more midnight rides since he met you," Martha raised her glass in tribute to her daughter-in-law. Kate dipped her head to acknowledge the gesture.

Martha finished her glass of wine. "I've kept you occupied long enough. I'm sure Richard will be calling soon. Tell him I dropped by. I'll leave it up to you how much of our conversation you wish to share."

Kate glanced at her watch, "He usually calls around 10 pm our time, if he can. Since he is in Central Time, he may have to call later. Won't you stay a little longer?"

"It's been a long day, and I have a few things to do at my place," Martha replied.

"I'll call downstairs and have Eduardo grab you a cab." Kate reached for her phone.

"Thank you. That would be a great help." Martha stood as she spoke.

Kate asked for Eduardo's help and thanked him as she followed Martha to the door. The women exchanged a hug and air kisses. Martha left.

Kate cleared up from dinner, stashing the leftovers in the fridge. As she was wiping down the countertop, her phone rang.

"Hey, Babe. How's Texas?" Kate answered her phone.

"Hot, muggy and devoid of my favorite woman," Rick whined.

Kate's voice affected a breathy, sexy tone, "Well, hurry home, genius. I think it's time we start making some little Castle babies."

Rick gasped, "Genius? Babies? What have you been drinking tonight?"

"I spent some time with your Mom. I asked her how you got all those scholarships to private schools. It was quite illuminating," Kate answered.

"Wait, she—you-what did she tell you?" Rick sputtered in response.

"We'll talk about that when you get home, Writer Boy. Right now I want to talk about what I plan to do to your body when you get here," Kate teased Rick.

"That's Writer Man, Mrs. Castle, Writer Man."

A/N: I was watching reruns on TNT when this plot bunny popped into my head. The sources of Rick's abilities have always intrigued me. I didn't make his vocabulary quite as advanced as my gifted child, but close.


End file.
